Your Eyes
by Vixen 8D
Summary: His eyes always changed from blue to red and vice-versa, eventually remaining that same stormy purple. And so it became my personal goal to change them to blue. Forever.
1. Red Chakra

He's always been there for me. Since I first entered the forest.

I always liked Konoha forest. There was always a certain air of mystery surrounding it. And the rumours of the demons which inhabit it, make it a good place to hide when you need it. I go there a lot, now.

I first entered the looming trees when I was about twelve: nearly finished my years at the ninja academy. And I was running, again, from someone who felt the need to boost his ego and hurt me. His name was Kata, and he's much like the king of the playground. He has his own ring of guys to do the dirty work - and he enjoys hurting others. Especially girls. I never could understand the meaning behind it.

My legs felt heavy, but I kept running as best I could - away from the gates of the academy as fast as speed would allow. The burning slap on my left shoulder stung like crazy, and I whimpered slightly as I pressed my right hand over the wound in an effort to control the distracting pain. I've always been too gentle; for everyone, in fact. I'm a disgrace to the Hyuuga, a failure when it comes to fighting one on one and my intelligence isn't anything special. I'm a coward, stutter a lot and can't raise a hand against anyone. Iruka-sensei once remarked that it was a gift to care about everyone. I find it more of a curse.

Father will hit me for being late again when I get home - maybe over the already burning pain of the slap, to make it worse. But my thoughts draw away from the future as I enter the forest and still can hear the shouts of them behind me. It is only fear and adrenaline keeping me upright now.

"There's the weakling!" I can hear Kata's voice clearer above the others, "Let's get her!"

"N-No way, man, I'm not going in t-that forest. It's just plain creepy!"

"Huh," the bully snorts in a degrading way, "You're a scaredy cat then, just like her?"

"Man, Takai's right, that place is way too scary. My mom said it's haunted by that demon, the Kyuubi!"

I flinch in fear at the low name, spoken by none other than Kiba Inuzuka, one of my daily tormentors. Everyone knows the story of the nine-tailed demon fox: sealed within the stomach of a boy when he was born by the Fourth. Many crow on about how they'd be able to beat the Kyuubi with their hands tied behind their back by the time they reach Jonin: but even the Hokage, we all know, would be scared witless by the return of such a nightmare.

"Shh, You know we're not supposed to talk about that!" hissed Takai, barely audible as I increase the distance between us.

But finally, my limbs cannot deal with the strain and I fall to the floor in a small clearing with a tiny whimper escaping my throat; pitiful. And so my pupil less eyes stare in desperation at the path I had come down moments before, where a singular silhouette appears against the setting sun. Kata grins sharply: he comes from a sort of animalistic family. Much like Kiba, so the canines on either side of his mouth are sharpened and look suddenly very, very realistic. Another cry escapes my throat but the pure terror seems to increase the length of his grin.

"So, cry baby, who's going to save you now? No Iruka-sensei to help you and no Hyuuga family members to stop me hurting you. Just you, me and this big empty forest." He spread his hands widely to emphasise the fact we were all alone before grinning again, the fangs suddenly seeming magnified in the midst of my terror.

"K-Kata-kun y-you know t-that my F-Father won't l-like it i-if you hurt m-me," I warned desperately, my stutter more pronounced by the fear I was feeling. He seemed to notice too, and a manic glint came into his eyes.

_This guy isn't normal_, I realised in a sudden blink of clarity, _He's crazy._

"Oh no, I wouldn't want to insult a _Hyuuga_ now would I?" he sneered in distaste, "You think I care? The Hyuuga need taking down a peg or too, really - all of my clan think so. So it's not a great loss if we get a few stern warnings from the Hokage. After all, the old man can't even walk anymore, can he?"

His harsh laughter echoed like a warning beacon off the enclosed trees. The sharp, nail-grinding sound of metal against metal warned

I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact of kunai to hit my soft, vulnerable body and as the clink of metal hits the air I clench my eyelids together tighter. I would either die, or be scarred for life in this encounter. The realization was terrifying.

Then one, two.. three seconds passed. Kata, if he was going to throw anything, would have done it by now. Could he have missed? No, not from one of the top male student in the class.. Surely not. But the impending death seemed to not be coming. Did I dare open my eyes? Another minute passed before I feel the need to open them.

The scene is the same - yet, very different. For it appeared that someone - or something - had intervened on my behalf.

The kunai hangs in mid air, pointing downwards: as if someone's holding it. But instead of a person, there is a sort of ghostly chakra hanging around it: holding the object in midair. Iruka-sensei always took great pains to explain to us that chakra was a sort of essence that some humans managed to possess and with training control. He also, always pointed out, that it was blue. But the eerie colouring holding the kunai steadily was a vivid fiery colour - maybe red, or a deep orange.

Kata was staring at it - a look of fear on his face. He hadn't moved from his original spot. My eyes drew automatically to the trail of chakra which protruded from the dark shelter of the trees. Who was controlling it? Who had saved me? Answers did not come as minutes ticked by in stunned silence. Then the kunai, silently controlled by the unnamed chakra, was thrown back at Kata.

He almost looked like he was in a daze, when it drew near, but he seemed to snap out of it with a yell of pain as the kunai dug into his shoulder. I winced, sympathetically, despite my previous predicament from before. For what kind of person, no matter what age, could not pity one who was hurt due to his own doing? Briefly distracted, my attention was turned back to the line which disappeared into the line of trees. My frame started trembling again. Whoever could stop a kunai in midair through chakra control alone - and this red chakra as well - must be at least chunin level, lowest.

As my pupil less eyes turned downward, I caught a slight strain in the edge of the chakra length - like the red substance was struggling against the immense control holding it there: trying to break free and complete its own goals. I shivered at the morbid thought. Chakra with it's own mind: that was more terrifying than any shinobi I could come across in this lifetime.

Kata, briefly obscured from my vision by my red saviour, let out a howl of rage which both scared me further and awakened a certain curious detachment. Why was this boy - a young boy, with surely no possible murderous goals yet - so set on spilling my blood? My blood in particular? What was it that drew that dark side of him out and made him want to act upon the instinct immediately? I shuddered - clenching my teeth together until they made a distinct grinding sound. My weakness. Right. He was infuriated at my endless care. Understandable, but still hurtful. My small hands bunched into fists, a sign of violence, surely not, at my side and I could feel the perfectly filed moon crescents digging into my palms. Why me? Why always me?

The insane boy jumped up from his kneeling position - something he had assumed after being hit in the shoulder - and clutched the bleeding wound with a twisted, furious rage in his features - marring the normally passable face. For a moment, fangs protruding from his upper lip, uncharacteristic slit eyes, hair in a wild disarray, he looked as much an animal as anything I'd seen. The change was startling. But I didn't have time for this now. Whoever felt the need to intervene.. for all I knew, it was simply for the chance to kill me themselves. Gasping, I pushed myself to standing with trembling limbs - and even through that small action, I could see the contempt shining out of Kata's eyes as he pulled out another kunai. Dazedly, I wondered where he bought them from. For a child in ninja academy, it was expensive to have a full range of weaponry-

There! Another glint of metal in the air, fast incoming towards me. I can't count on my red saviour - for they may not even be a saviour. Instead, I try to work the easy loop on my weapons pouch on my leg. A whimper of fear escapes me. No good: my fingers are trembling too much. Opting for the faster way, I push my unsteady fingers under the loose flap and encounter the cold metal of my own kunai. I wrench it through the pouch of leather - nicking the once immaculate but now slightly bedraggled looking flap of leather. No time to waste thinking of my punishment later. Shakily, I try to move into the defensive position Iruka-sensei taught us barely fifteen minutes ago, amazed I can still remember such useless information even now as I await my demise. But again, I am not given the chance to react as the silent third partner - or chakra, rather - grabs the small weapon out of the air and almost carelessly throws it to the side, where it lodges with a resounding shudder in the bark of a tree trunk.

Not for the first time, I wish I was able to use the Byakugan.

The primal eyes of the boy suddenly switch their attention to where the trail of chakra leads to: as if, only now, he has figured out that the controller lies where it leads. With a deadly grin, he is running .. on all fours. Like an animal. I take the time to try and scramble backwards: how selfish of me to leave the one who saved me to die. But I can only think of my own safety. The idea of more pain is too great. Far too great for my limited knowledge to comprehend. Acting on my own instincts, I plunge away from the battle scene and into the trees: running.

Running. Tripping. Sprawling. Returning to my feet. Still running. A flinch when the sounds of approach come near, but always fade away. I try to block out the sounds, but they rip through the air like paper being shredded before my eyes. Animal whimpers - and roars. Pain. I shudder as they come into contact with my ears. Who - or what - have I left Kata to deal with?

But the continual idea of the pain I would have to certainly endure pushes me forwards. The sting of someone's hand hitting my flesh. The pain of the blood flowing, even if only from a paper cut.

My endurance, as I am told regularly, is pitiful so I have barely run a few hundred metres before I fall beneath the branches of a tree. I try to shut out the bloody sounds of fighting, but fail. Kata's voice - sort of hoarse with an animal fury I've never heard before - rips through the air; still clear besides my efforts to run.

"You want something, eh, you stupid fox? I'll give you something!"

The soft moan is out before I can stop it as I hide my face in my palms. Have I abandoned my classmate to a death at the hands of none other than the Kyuubi? What sort of ninja - in training or not - would do such a thing? A pitiful one at best. A failure. The word echoes round my thoughts in a taunting barrage, my sight black and filled with the word when I open my eyes. Failure. Worthless. Failure. You're a failure, Hinata. Failure. I barely make it to the bushes before I start retching up my hastily consumed lunch from earlier. The sting of tears in my eyes from the effort hurts.

And then the endless sounds of fighting stop. Ominously.

Maybe it'll come and put me out of my misery.

Shuddering and shivering, I crawl away from the mess I've made before lying still on the ground. If it's come to kill me, I might as well make it easier. Far better than being taken down easily - less humiliating. The sound of approach is fast and clumsy - like someone trying to fight through the thicket. Despite wanting to die, I can't help but feel hope rise. Maybe a Jonin heard the sounds of a fight and has come to save me? Never the less, I fiercely keep my eyes shut to the world outside. Maybe, just maybe, we can forget all this. I can go back to school and be unbothered, my father could ignore me as he usually does, I could quietly train..

"Are you okay?"

The more or less human voice snaps me out of my depressing thoughts and forces me automatically to open my eyes - which are filled with a vision of huge, deep purple ones. With a yelp, I manage to drag myself away from the hauntingly lonely depths, before realising who they belong to. A boy. Maybe barely my age. A little taller than myself, perhaps, he was wearing a pair of baggy black trousers and a shirt to match with a red leaf symbol on the front. Despite the clothes, his appearance was ragged. The bottom of the trousers were ripped and worn away, the t-shirt sporting a few minor cuts in its material. He wore nothing on his feet, which should have really been considered strange, but I found it somehow suitable to him. It was mainly the facial features which made me pause and do a double-take. On either cheek, three whisker like birth marks adorned his cheeks. Strangely, they fit the blonde, spiky hair and sparkling eyes. The dark purple eyes, which I swear was a mix of red and blue. When the dull sunshine glittered through the trees, throwing light on to them, it was like the primary colours were fighting for dominance in the raging, violent depths. I shook my head slightly at such strange thoughts.

It took me a moment to realise he was awaiting an answer.

"Oh! I-I mean.. y-yes, I- I'm fine, th-thank-you."

The boys features, before carved with worry, suddenly brightened - the difference startling, even to me. It seemed to light a flame in him, making the being instantly more likable. It was that smile, I recognized vaguely. That smile made _me_ want to smile. I couldn't remember when I'd last wanted to smile at someone purely for the feeling of happiness.

"U-Umm.." my voice trailed off as my throat was filled with a hard lump: reminding me _exactly _why I was here and what had just taken place. The brief, glowing moment of content was gone, and suddenly, I was the lonely outcast from school again. Nervously, I twisted my two index fingers together. A habit which had developed over the last month or so. "H-Have you.. I m-mean, have you s-seen a boy a-around m-my age? He was.. he w-was j-just here a m-moment ago. I mean.. h-he was _b-bleeding_!" I cringed inwardly at my own shaky voice. Why couldn't I be more confident?

But he seemed to know who I meant as the smile drifted to nothing, replaced with a dark and suddenly scary sombre look. "Look, um.."

"H-Hinata. My n-name's Hinata."

"Look, Hinata, I'm pretty sure that person you were with.." his voice trailed off as he reached a hand behind his head to scratch the back of his neck, almost nervously. The tone was more hardened when he continued. "I'm quite sure that guy wasn't any friend of yours - throwing kunai at you and all that. So I don't think you should worry about him anymore."

As the words sank into me, my mind suddenly focused on a few _very_ important words. "W-wait, that ch-chakra was _y-you_?"

I was almost sorry I spoke, then: from the conflicted emotions which fluttered across the boys face. Pain, uncertainty, fear, wariness. The dark feelings were an endless torrent before it finally settled on the wary truth. I wondered, to what could cause such conflict at a mere question.

"Yes."

A short, abrupt answer. Despite not having any attachment to the stranger in front of me, a strange kind of hurt at his lack of explanation ran through me. It was irrational, but still, it was there. During the brief smile, I had thought there had been some sort of connection - understanding. Obviously, I had been grievously wrong. My feelings must have shown on my face and unmistakable pain attached itself to his features - or was it guilt? An unfamiliar determination overcame me. So this boy had saved me. The least I could do was offer some kind of conversation. I tried not to think too hard on _how_ exactly he'd saved me. If my assumptions were anything to go by, it was very bloody.

"S-so," I struggled not to stutter too much, "I.. I've told you m-my name. What is y-yours?"

There it was again. Unmistakable uncertainty. My curiosity was piqued at his reluctance to release even his name. Surely, that wasn't unreasonable? But at the same time, I could appeal to the need to keep secrecy. It was much the same at school. In the years ago that I had arrived, kids had questioned me constantly: being the friend of the Hyuuga heiress would certainly earn most instant popularity. But I was painfully shy, still, back then. And eventually they had ceased in their efforts to befriend me. I was treated more as a friendly outcast; fine to ask a if you wanted to borrow a pencil but not to be included in games and activities.

Just as I was about to voice these thoughts, he replied.

"My name.. I don't know what it is," he admitted.

The words confused me to no end.

"You.. d-don't have a n-name," I repeated slowly.

"Well.." he looked torn as he fought some inner battle. A vague feeling of unease settled over me, prompting my already weak stomach. I struggled to not over to the undergrowth and retch my empty insides again. "I've been called many different names. Mainly they call me.. Kyuubi." A weak smile.

I felt the blood make a very abrupt exit from my face. The world seemed to take on a shaky appearance - completely irrelevant as I tried to comprehend what he was telling me. This boy - this human-looking, harmless boy - was the Kyuubi. The nine-tailed demon's host. I whimpered again, all thoughts of escaping this alive gone from my mind in the blink of an eye. The animal terror returned as I instinctively tried to drag myself away from the boy.

"No, no! Wait, Hinata-chan!" yelped the host, his voice panicky. The unexpected ending suffix was enough to make me pause in confusion. Since when was I called 'Hinata_-chan_'? Not even my younger sister, Hana, called me that. Slightly breathless, the demon host was suddenly in front of my face, boring his own pleading eyes into mine. I froze: my breath hitching at the sheer tortuous _pain_ within the pupils. He hurried on - stumbling over his words as he tried to explain.

"Look, I'm not the Kyuubi - I swear! I'm kinda half him, half .. Well, me, whoever I am. But you have to understand: I really don't know my name! Even before I was driven out of the village all those years ago, I never knew my name! I was just called 'demon' and 'Kyuubi'." I could only blink in reaction before he desperately continued. "I really don't want you to leave - I've been so lonely out here! Heck, you can call me whatever you want - I j-just.." His face took on a light, tinted blush, but the eyes were sincere. "I-I just knew you'd be nice when I saw you, you know? I really don't want you to go."

I was utterly still for a few moments. To go with a demon boy, of all things? Even for a few hours, it would be dangerous at best. After all, how could you be safe in the company of the most dangerous of all tailed beasts - the nine-tailed fox? Yet still, those eyes drilled a plea for companionship into my own - and its hard to pronounce the word 'no' for a moment. How to deny those eyes is a mystery.

"Al.. Alright. J-Just for a few hours: Hiashi won't b-be pleased i-if I'm l-late.."

Despite the unpromising words, the change to his features is immediate. The serious façade is cast aside in such a manner, that I briefly wonder if it was a part of my currently reeling imagination. His laugh is delighted as he pulls me from my standing position with a burst of energy. That same smile. And again, the same feeling of wanting to match the bright emotion with one of my own. The idea confuses me. How can one stranger - a _dangerous_ stranger, no less - cause such reactions in me in such a short expanse of time?

"C'mon, Hinata-chan!" he laughed wildly, in that carefree way of one discovering something exciting. "I'm going to show you this awesome place I found - I know you'll love it!"

I stumbled along after him: trying to match his pace without success. It was like trying to keep up with a Jonin. Impossible. Obviously realising so, Kyuubi - for lack of a better name - stopped briefly and seemed to pause as he considered something. I had no time to wonder what it was before he put it into action and picked me up; bridal style, of all things! The blood rushed to my cheeks and I placed a palm on the burning skin. Was I blushing? Furiously, I refused to meet his gaze as he suddenly and quite literally _bounced _off the ground: jumping from branch to branch with ease. I gasped in awe as we sailed through the air - passing a few surprised nests and sleeping animals along the way. Kyuubi kept up a constant chatter as we went.

"I know you'll really like it, Hinata-chan! I mean, you're all gentle and stuff, right? So this place would be really great for you - it's got all this wildlife and flowers. There's even a really small river by the edge, like in all those fairy tales, you know?" I didn't get a chance to tell him if I did indeed 'know' before he continued. It was almost like he was nervous. "There's these really shiny butterflies there, too. And yes, I mean _shiny_. They're all silver and stuff. I squashed one by accident a few years back, and it even had this weird silver liquid inside it - disgusting, I know."

I was only really half-listening to the one-sided conversation - one ear listening to the meaningless chatter and the other concentrating on making sure he didn't miss a branch and made us both fall. But the utterly meaningless, yet still amusing comment about the butterflies just made me laugh. It seemed we were both startled by the sound as Kyuubi ground to a halt on the branch and I blinked - about to say sorry, for some unfathomable reason. But then his features returned to their sunny grin, and mine could not help but mimic it. His enthusiasm was infectious.

Enjoying the now comfortable silence, I leaned back in the strong arms and stared at the leafy foliage above - only then, just realising the enormity of what I was doing. I was being carried off to who knows where by a complete stranger. A demon, no less. One who could kill me in a matter of seconds. Yet.. The smile he constantly had attached to his face flashed before my eyes. And I suddenly find myself scrabbling for a reason to stay. After all, what sort of demon smiles?

I was distracted from my less than sane thoughts by the sudden burst of blue sky - originally the varying greens of the trees. Twisting my vision, I realised we were at the place Kyuubi had been so eager to show me - and he hadn't been exaggerating.

The land wasn't like the fairy tale book places of magic - far from it. It had a distinctly wild look about it, the grass long and uncut. The flowers bursting in all directions. The stream awkwardly twisting in curious patterns. But still, it held some sort of beauty. An untamed feeling. The trees were not perfected to human likeness as some were in the Leaf Village - some were bent, some were tall, some bore flowers and some did not. The butterflies, which Kyuubi had only moments ago been telling me about, seemed to look like tiny silver flashes in the air. There was a certain feeling of dominance in the air, like it knew no master. It felt strange, even different, from the now seemingly tame grasses and boring, separated trees which were essential in the regular Konoha park.

I probably would have gone on taking in the atmosphere, had Kyuubi not started lowering me to the ground. I gained my feet, to my own surprise and amusement, easily. The air around my sleeves suddenly felt cold. In a moment of madness, I missed the warmth of his hands holding me against his body. Purely for the feeling of warmth. I rubbed my sleeves uncomfortably.

"So, Whatdoyouthink?" he asked, the last sentence coming out in a rush. It took me a moment to realise that _Kyuubi_ was actually _nervous_ of _my_ reaction. I was torn between the urge to laugh and the idea of crying. Why in the name of Kami would the nine-tailed fox care about my reaction to such a thing? But the nervous intent gaze still bored into my face as he waited for an answer.

"I..It's b-beautiful," I murmured, suddenly feeling over-whelmed and extremely insignificant in comparison to the scenic forest. It was only when I noticed the orange sheen cast over the place did I realise how late it was. I hesitated before asking. What should I call him? Kyuubi seemed somehow unfitting for the enthusiastic boy - who was currently destroying some of the more delicate plants as he tried to catch one of the famed shiny butterflies he had talked about. "U-Um.. Kyu-kun?"

It didn't sound very good, but it was all I had to work with so far. Kyuubi stopped his avid dance of capture for a moment before blinking slightly at the unfamiliar nickname. When he raised no objections, I silently noted to myself that was what I would call him in the future. I was only mildly shocked to realize that I was planning to actually meet up _again_ with the demon in the future.

"I-I have to g-go now. It's g-getting late a-and I n-need to get h-home." The words seemed to make him recoil slightly - like I'd physically slapped him. Automatically, I recoiled in my own mental pain as well. How did such simple words hurt him? I was surprised at my own actual care in the thought, rather than the natural feeling I had towards others. A sudden, unidentifiable emotion flickered across the unusual features, but was gone before I could convince myself I had seen it. Instead, he jumped and sprinted the few metres between us before gripping my shoulders with such intensity that I gasped slightly at the rough-handling. But his gaze on my own fixed my attention. Completely irrelevant to the current situation, I noticed the difference in our respective heights. He was slightly taller than myself. I had to crane my neck in a way which hurt to actually meet the raging purple irises.

"Promise you'll come tomorrow, Hinata-chan?" he asked seriously, a note of pleading in his voice. My pupil less eyes widened briefly and before I knew it I was nodding: agreeing. Despite all the misgivings shouting from the back of my mind. _This boy is a demon. He could kill you._ I pushed them aside with an unfamiliar feeling creeping over me. Was that disdain? _He also saved me, _I argue silently.

It all seems worth it when the spark returns to those eyes and the slowly becoming familiar, carefree laugh bounced off the spacious trees.

* * *

That day set a strange pattern to all the days that would follow. I would endure the lessons, wait patiently for the final one to end and then run from the school as fast as I could. At first, the familiar group of Kata, Takai and Kiba followed me - shouting abuse of my family after my burning ears. Kyuubi, despite my warnings, was deeply upset by the episodes and constantly intervened when I reached the edge of the forest. They stopped following me after school for a while, then. But I still had to go through the nightmare of breaks. I didn't tell Kyuubi of that. I harboured a secret fear he'd try to do something about that, too.

I came to keep him company, and he showed me the entire forest and taught me some, too. It was a trade off, of sorts, and I felt slightly guilty at the very poor exchange. When I let the matter rise during conversation, though, he had firmly told me that I was being silly and that _he_ was getting the most out of the arrangement. I still wonder about those words, sometimes.

Sometimes, we both lost track of time and after the first night of missing dinner, I resolved to take another step to have longer with the demon boy I was slowly becoming fond of. After the day of lessons ended, I stopped by the Ramen takeaway in town and bought myself dinner before meeting Kyuubi. He seemed to eye the carton warily when I took it out. Sometimes, it really confused me how he knew nothing of the civilised world - living in the isolation of the Konoha forest. He watched with interest as I separated my chopsticks and started on my early dinner. When I caught him staring, I asked if he would like to try it. It was all I could do to not laugh at the look of concentration on his face as the demon container carefully picked up a noodle and slurped it up.

"What, ah, flavour is it?" he asked hesitantly, almost like it was a personal question.

"Naruto R-Ramen," I laughed, stuttering. I laughed a lot, these days, when I was around him.

"Naruto," he repeated, seeming to roll the unfamiliar word around on his tongue, "It's got a certain ring to it."

"_Kyu-kun!_ You c-can't be s-serious!" We'd discussed a change of name for him, before. But never settled on one that seemed right. I smiled as I chided him though. Only Kyu-kun would think the word 'Naruto' would be a good name for himself.

"What?" he pouted childishly, "You don't think it'd be a good name?"

The puppy dog eyes did me in as I wearily shook my head with a sigh. Despite being an actual demon, I found it becoming harder and harder to refuse him of something. It was all a part fo the constant, cheerful atmosphere which seemed to permanently hang around him. He laughed at my defeated expression before nodding again - in a more serious way. Like he was about to say or do something very important.

"Alright then. From now on my name is Naruto."


	2. Daisy Chains

**NOTE! - **I am extremely sorry, but many of the original reviewers and watchers of this story may be confused as to why its at the top of the Naruto section again. This is because I accidentally deleted it as explained shortly in the summary and on my profile. Again, so sorry! On a happier note, the reposting of this has spurred some muse in me and I am currently in the midst of finishing up chapter three!

* * *

I kept feeling guilty of the unfair exchange we had. It seemed I gave him far too little in return for all the knowledge and fun he filled my hours with. So it was a couple of weeks later, when I was absently making a daisy chain and Naruto carefully trying to copy it, that I decided to let the matter arise. I'd had it in mind for some time now, and with the boundless enthusiasm he had for general antics and actions I was almost completely sure that he would like the idea. Again, though, I was hesitant to speak first. I never was all that good at starting a conversation.

"N-Naruto-kun?" His unique, dancing eyes rose from trying to push a stubborn daisy stem through another and the expectant but warm attention fixated on myself made me want to cringe and just give up the idea. After all, he wouldn't take too kindly to me if he didn't like it, would he? The days I'd spent didn't involve many words about the villagers whom I daily walked through, but whenever they were mentioned there was a certain tense air surrounding him. His past had been relayed to me in short, undefined sentences. But I'd grasped the basics. Driven from the village when he was around five. I felt wary to approach the idea of him learning their techniques - how would he react? If it was one thing I had learnt when in the company of Naruto, it was that he was totally unpredictable.

"I was.. I w-was wondering. Y-You see, I f-feel that you're n-not r-really getting much out of m-my company and I w-was wondering if.. you would like m-me," I gulped harshly as my throat became dry before forcing the last words out, "To t-teach you th-the ninja t-techniques we learn a-at school. I-If only f-for a bit."

There. I'd said it. No going back now. I didn't know what I was expecting - anger? Confusion? Disgust? But the utter silence which met my words made me want to curl up into a ball and never set eyes on the world again. Where was a good old hole in the Earth when you needed one? I averted my gaze automatically - something I'd learned from the beginning during Kata's taunting and jeering. Never make eye contact. It could provoke anyone to far worse things than intended.

The empty air seemed unbearably stifling all of a sudden, and the steadily growing daisy chain in my hand suddenly felt weak and limp. Had I gone too far, this time? Had I done something wrong? I closed my eyes briefly in bleak despair. I might as well walk away from the mess I'd made. But when I made a move to get up, the same familiar hand clamped down on my wrist and pulled me downwards with such force that my legs protested slightly. Prolonging the inevitable meeting of eyes, I stared at the hand on my wrist before warily meeting Naruto's gaze. It was not what I'd expected.

Blue. A deep, oceanic blue shone from the irises like a beam of light in the dark. I felt my jaw drop in unmatched shock. The purple, ever-raging depths of the normal eyes were gone, briefly replaced with a much more meaningful colour as I stared. My own pupil less eyes just couldn't bring their locked gaze off the awed colour. Vaguely, in my mind, I realized I hadn't been wrong on my first assumptions when I looked at the violent pupils a couple of weeks back. The red and blue _were_ fighting - colours fighting for dominance. The thought was ridiculous - verging on plainly unbelievable, but somehow I knew I'd grasped another unknown fact of my friend correctly. Assumed correctly.

The sudden uncertainty which was so vacant from those irises normally was back in startling clarity: verging on a joy which was hidden further behind. I was awoken from my internal discoveries by the tightening grip on my arm. He made no move to stop me as I gently unlatched the fingers off my skin, rubbing it delicately as I waited for him to speak. The large pause between us was slowly arousing a nervous, edgy side of me. What was he thinking? I wanted to know, badly, within the seconds following the thought.

"You- You'd really do that for me?" Naruto whispered the question, and without hesitation - and before I could lose my nerve - I nodded with conviction. There was a moment of strained silence before his enthusiastic response. I was pulled into a chest-crushing hug which made it hard to breath, but still made me want to smile. No one could deny the idea that he was happy. And when I managed to twist my head away from the position I was in, his eyes were still the strange, dancing blue. I wondered if he realised the changing colours but I was cut off from voicing the question when he shouted his own joy.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you Hinata-chan! Seriously, that would be totally awesome! I mean, we could train together and stuff, right? If I got to your level?" Instinctively I felt myself nod, but my attention was turned from the words by an uncomfortable reminder of the date coming up. Genin tests. If I passed, I would go onto the twisting road to become a full-fledged ninja - and be spending a whole lot less time with Naruto. The grim reminder was like an impending death penalty. How could - no, how _would_ - I live through the hardest role of my life without my ever-faithful, demonic companion beside me? How would I suffer through the nail-grinding training of a ninja without the sunny smile and endless support from Naruto? The dark cloud of growing up was far too close for my liking. The boy in question, though, was happily oblivious to my grim thoughts as he carefully pushed the fifth daisy stem through another. I watched him as I paused in my own daisy-chaining efforts. How could I give up this content, happy feeling? I felt selfish after thinking such a thought, but it was true. The questions taunted me before Naruto broke the slowly lengthening pause in the air.

"So, um, when can we start? I mean, whenever it suits you of course." There was a certain endearing quality in his features as he uncertainly glanced at my frozen form. Smiling slightly, I left the far from finished chain of flowers on the now flattened grass, heaved myself to my feet and offered him a hand to take hold of.

"Now, i-if you want to," I replied unsteadily, running on pure feeling right now. I could tell my heart was ruling my head. But I didn't care. And it seemed, neither did he as the boy briefly looked at my hand before taking it with the same signature grin and regaining his own feet. Still holding his hand, I led him confidently across the small clearing which he had showed me that fateful few weeks ago before stopping by the stream. It felt odd when I let go of his hand. Like I was missing something. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind to contemplate later before trying to assume a teacher like pose. Automatically, Naruto sat down in front of me and I felt an odd surge of confidence as he gestured for me to begin.

"O-..Okay, Iruka-sensei recently b-began teaching us a-about making c-clones."

His face screwed up immediately in incomprehension before he voiced his confusion. "What's a clone?" Only Naruto could say something like that.

"A clone i-is like a copy of s-something - invaluable to n-ninja if th-they need t-to be st-stealthy. Such a-as if they n-needed bait o-or a d-distraction," I explained, trying to recite from memory as I recalled the lesson. He remained his confused expression for a few moments before the face lit up with understanding. "Like how all the silver butterflies are exactly the same?" He assumed a smug-like mask as I nodded in agreement. "So, how do you make one?"

"W-Well, through every n-ninja there r-runs something called ch-chakra. It I-is the key s-skill you n-need if you w-wish to u-use things like j-jutsu," I taught, surprised out how easily I'd memorised such things. A sudden thought occurred to me as I remembered one of the Genin that occasionally stopped by the academy. "Th-Though some n-ninja use s-something called taijutsu - which d-doesn't involve ch-chakra all that m-much."

"Chakra," he echoed with an abstract look on his face, before it turned slightly worried, "Do I have chakra?"

The idea, unfortunately, had not occurred to me before now. I suddenly felt embarrassed at being unable to tell him if he had it or not. For one moment, I felt the undeniable urge to run away like the coward I was. Instead, I replied briskly, "Well, w-we'll j-just have to f-find out." The blank expression on his face at my sudden change in tone made me want to apologise, but I instead opted to continue in my normal voice.

"F-First you n-need to make y-your hands form th-this kind of sh-shape," I said, forming the unusual clasp of hands in demonstration until he slowly copied it. Automatically I reached forward and corrected the awkward version he had managed to create before continuing. "Th-Then you n-need to say B-Bunshin no Jutsu a-and concentrate o-on making an exact c-copy of yourself."

"B-Bunshin no Jutsu?" he asked, a frown marring his forehead slightly.

I sighed, all of a second exasperated with my own weak stuttering habits. Taking it as a sign that I was tiring of teaching him, Naruto hurriedly added, "It doesn't matter. I don't need to know. Carry on."

Shaking my head slightly in rejection, I held my jaw steady and was slightly surprised when the words "Bunshin no Jutsu, that's how you pronounce it," came soaring out of my mouth without a hitch. A curious sense of accomplishment made me pause in teaching mode for a few seconds. Was it possible that I had managed to say a sentence without stuttering? The thought was unnerving, and more than slightly disarming. My stutter was a part of me. Much as I hated it with a cold, unmatched feeling, it was still the part of me I had grown up with. Hinata, the girl who stuttered. I couldn't say a clear sentence for the life of me. So why now?

"Hinata-chan? Hello?" Naruto's hand vaguely being waved in clumsy flailing motions in front of my eyes brought me out of my thoughts. Shaking away the strange unfamiliar feeling, I returned my attention to teaching. "A.. As I s-said. Concentrate o-on making an e-exact copy of y-yourself."

Frowning with the utmost concentration, he carefully mimicked the hand sign I had shown him and closed his eyes, the same frown as he tried to complete the jutsu drifting over his face. For a moment, I took the time to examine him in a way that not many people got the chance to of one another. The bold birth marks, the carved features, the eyes I could not tell the colour of shut against my gaze.. An odd feeling I could not identify pushed its way to the surface and caused the all too familiar tears to well up at the corners of my eyes. Why was I so sentimental?

"Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Eager to see if my teaching efforts were a success, we both peered at the puff of smoke which had appeared next to him, waiting for it to clear anxiously. As it cleared, it became very much apparent that he hadn't succeeded. The resulting clone was more a ragged doll than a human, pale white limbs sticking out at awkward angles as it pressed its face into the ground in a slightly comical manner. There was nothing comic about the eagerness which fell from his face at the sight of the failed clone. The sight made me, strangely, want to hug him or offer some sort of human contact and comfort.

"Do I really look like that?"

If this had been an anime of some sort, I definitely would have sweat-dropped there and then. Trust him to think like that - sometimes, he just really surprised me. I stared at him dead-pan for a few moments, wondering whether to collapse laughing or solemnly tell him he'd failed the jutsu. The urge to laugh won out as I bent over. Only this boy - this _demon_ boy, no less, the one everyone was afraid of - would confuse a failed clone with himself. Naruto stared at me for a few seconds blankly before joining in, though I was sure he really didn't get the joke. But that was him. If someone laughed, he'd automatically join in, whether he realised what they were laughing about or not. Like a moth to a flame. Wiping tears from the corner of my eyes, I tried to continue the teaching without splitting my sides again.

* * *

Time passes when you're having fun, as they say. And it passed quickly. Days turned to weeks, in their own time turning into a month before I even knew it. And still, I was surprised everyday by something new. I could barely contain my eagerness for the classes to end, and instead of concentrating on the subject at hand stared out the window, day-dreaming of the hours to come. Sometimes, I swear I saw that same, irrepressible peering out from the line of trees just visible on the horizon.

Unfortunately, Iruka-sensei seemed to notice my behaviour and it was when a month had passed that I was asked to stay after class while I was stuffing books into my shoulder bag as fast as I could. The small balloon of anticipation in my chest burst upon the words as I sank in my chair beneath his gaze and nodded silently. Instead of wanting the lessons to move faster, I simply wanted them to fall back to that snails pace that they used to be at. So it was with a dejected slump in my step that I crossed the room to my sensei's desk after the lessons finished for the day.

He was silent for a few moments, and I daringly looked up into his pensive features, the scar across the bridge of his nose slight awry as he thought. Dragging my eyes away again, I studied my worn out ninja shoes as I waited for the berating to come. Surprisingly, it didn't. It did, however, start with the typical reassurances which came with every sort of conversation between a child and teacher.

"Now, Hinata, I know you're a bright girl really," he began in that same gentle tone they always used on such a delicate wall flower as myself, "But you seem to be distracted lately and at this rate you're not going to pass the genin examinations. Is anything wrong at home?"

The words set off more of an internal reaction than an outward as he studied my reaction to his words. Mentally, I had stiffened like a block of wood. The genin exams. I hadn't thought about them in some time, but they _were_ coming up soon. If I didn't pass, what would father say? The question to myself made me want to cringe and run to the forest - no, run to Naruto. If I didn't pass, Hiashi would certainly punish me. Much further than the times before. This time, I physically stepped back at the mere thought of what he would do. He would be extremely angry. That was unquestionably certain.

Briefly, in the small part of me which felt the need to invent some kind of plan, I wondered whether to _truly_ tell him what was going on at home. That my father was putting the pressure on his eldest daughter to become a ninja no matter what. That the elders of the Hyuuga clan were mulling over the idea of disowning me from their ranks. That my mothers grave lay unattended to in the darkest corner of the Hyuuga graveyard.

But such things were clan matters. Not to be spoken of.

Shaking my head vigorously, I tried to hold my chin firm and bit my lip to suppress the tears. Naruto-kun wouldn't cry, I thought fiercely. Naruto would be yelling at Iruka-sensei that it didn't matter: that he would become a great ninja whether he made the rank of genin or not.

The silence that followed wasn't altogether comfortable. And when a response did come from Iruka-sensei, it was in the form of an unhappy sigh. When I looked up, his features were torn in indecision for a moment. For a brief few seconds, I forgot my own problems with this conversation and wondered what was troubling him. It was then that he chose to speak. "Hinata.. If you won't tell me I can't help you. If your family's giving you a hard time, the council and I could always do something about it."

Not for the first time, the urge to tell him everything was overwhelming. Tell him of Hiashi's continuous pushing for me to excel. Tell him of my shaky position within the ranks. Tell him of the boy who was becoming more of a puzzle each day. Tell him I was distracted _because_ of this demon, who wasn't the demon everyone said he was.

But of course, I couldn't.

Biting my lip further, I was loath to find that my teeth had drawn blood as I shook my head firmly again. Seeing no further need to stay, I murmured something garbled about getting home and turned to run out. He didn't try to stop me, but I could feel that same troubled gaze boring holes into the back of my head.

Unfortunately, my troubles did not end as I rounded the corner at the end of the corridor, only to go sprawling across the floor when someone's leg tripped me up. And despite accompanying one of the most closed off people I knew on a daily basis, I hissed aloud my pain as my knee knocked woodenly against the hard floor. Twisting, I found my eyes coming into contact with the slitted brown ones of Kata. It would have been lying to say I was surprised. I'd had it coming for days. Only sticking to Iruka-sensei's side like glue had lessened any chance that he would be able to corner me after the Kyuubi incident, as I sometimes called it.

He stepped forward menacingly, thrusting the ugly, rage-twisted features into my face with a snarl and automatically I flinched. My reaction seemed to reassure him further when he brought his meaty hand down of my arm, holding it in a death-grip so hard that I gasped softly. I was only vaguely surprised that I was dispassionately comparing him to a wild hog mentally.

"You enjoy that, Hyuuga?" he sneered in that horribly raspy voice of his, "Enjoy the extra attention? Can't get enough of it, can ya? Hm? It's not enough that the damn council sucks up to you - you've got to manipulate the teacher too, right? _Right_?" He tightened his grip on my arm to emphasise the last words and when I squeaked my discomfort he only tightened it harder. Without any right to, I wished with a sudden, pathetic surge of fear that Naruto was here to stop him again. The only mark from that time so long ago was a long scar which had appeared across Kata's cheek. What was more surprising was the fact that I wished violence upon the boy - and it felt good. But still, despite my new found violent side, I couldn't control my natural reaction.

"K-Kata-k-kun p-please d-don't."

His face shoved itself further into my vision and the idea of him being related to a wart hog seemed to only increase in likeliness. "What, Hinata-_chan_, can't stand a little rough play?" Another tightening of the grip on my arm, and I could feel my muscles protesting viciously to the treatment.

"Kata, Hinata, Shouldn't you two be going home by now?"

Thanking whatever form that Fate took, I glanced down the corridor I had just run up to find Iruka-sensei standing with hands on hips with narrowed eyes at the pair of us. Quick to recover, Kata released his grip on my hand before spinning round with a smile on his face - a mask I knew all to well. Absently, I rubbed my hand over the sore spot to calm the red mark sure to come. Rising to my feet, I was cut short as Kata smoothly walked by in a seemingly harmless action. "You haven't seen the last of this, _Hinata-chan_."

The words sounded ominously like one of those quotes from villains in comic strips, only this was totally realistic. And his voice held the promise.

Without thinking, I ran. Iruka-sensei's voice called out behind me, but I didn't stop. And the tears which ran down in streams from the corners of my eyes didn't stop either as I ran to the only place I knew to be safe - my own retreat. I didn't bother to look where I was going, and it was a miracle that I didn't trip over some precious item.

And as if he knew, he was waiting. Like always, he was waiting for me. Never the other way round. The dark, fathomless purple eyes were alarmed as they took in my state, but I paid no heed to what he thought of it. Without hesitation, I practically threw myself bodily into his arms and just cried like the pathetic fool I was. Shed tears, because someone had threatened to hurt me. Like a parent comforting a child, his voice wove words of comfort around me, like a blanket against the world. And much as I hated to admit it, it would work like the times before. I could feel my salty tears soaking the solitary shirt he had, and slowly I tried to pull away, but he pulled me back firmly. And I couldn't stop the flow of tears. Couldn't stop the endless streams which ran in hot tickles down my cheeks and throat.

It was childish and selfish for me to come to him for comfort. Transfer the burdens I was supposed to carry to his own heavy shoulders. Cheat life's sorrows. Yet I did it, without hesitation. What did that say for my sense of caring for others? As the sobs stopped wracking my ribs, it was replaced with a depressing lack of self-preservation and plenty of self-loathing. Why was I so weak?

He didn't say anything for a long while. Just waited for me to hiccup my way into shuddering silence. He didn't let go of me, either. Just rubbed one of his hands along my back in a soothing rhythm. Dimly, I realised we had somehow managed to end up deeper into the trees than we'd been before. And that instead of standing, both of us were sitting.

The strange feeling of human comfort was so alien and new, that I felt the immediate urge to pull away from it. Regular people wouldn't - no, _couldn't_ - do this. Simply couldn't sit comforting one another with no barriers or secrets or worries between one another, be it physically or psychologically. I'd been hugged before, as a child in younger, happier days. But there'd always been a gap, no matter how comfortable and warm the arms which held me had seemed at the time. But there wasn't a barrier or a secret between myself and Naruto. How ironic, that I would achieve such a thing with a demon container.

Eventually, the shudders and sniffles died away and my face burned hot and sticky with tear tracks and snot. Pulling away slightly, his arms briefly tightened in concern before letting me wipe my face on my sleeve. I tried not meet his gaze, but it proved difficult to do when I was facing him. My irregular breathing kept hitching, so I remained silent as I studied a crack in the ground and he in turn studied my face. I wasn't an attractive crier: all snot and tears, puffy eyes and a runny nose. I knew that much, at least. It couldn't have been fun to examine my face after that particular crying jag, but when his fingers tilted my chin up I automatically looked at him, and yet again those same eyes caught me. The comfortable feeling was gone, as I felt an chill like icy water pour down my back. Those irises I knew so well were a vibrant, angry red.

"Hinata-chan." Those red eyes scared me. Scared me like he'd never scared me before. Not when he'd hurt Kata. Never when I'd mentioned the villagers. This time he was _really_ angry - the kind which made him a demon. "Hinata-chan, who did this to you?"

Those eyes were mesmerising: the slits more animal and wild than anything the Inuzuka or Kata's clan could ever hope to recreate. "_Hinata-chan_! _Who_?" The order was practically growled and it made me blink, breaking the sudden trance which had seemed to come from nowhere. I didn't think, before I spoke. "Kata-kun."

And within that one word, it angered him beyond belief. With an almost animal snarl he pushed me away with a strength he had never shown - so great it made me stumble on to my feet until my back was up against a tree. Red. Blazing red surrounded him. The same red substance which had saved me that first time with Kata. On all fours, my mind began to play tricks on me as the chakra - for there was nothing else it could be - seemed to form the vague shape of ears and a tail around his body. The heat was licking like flames at my pale skin. Whimpering still, new bursts of tears coming to my eyes, I tried to back away from him. This, was the boy I had been trusting the last month. And this, was why they truly called him a demon.

It hurt to watch, and again I wished for the Byakugan. I could barely see through the angry, hissing air to the crouched body. Tears trailing from the corners of my eyes, I tried to push through it to no avail. It was like the padded walls of a cell: just bouncing me off. The red flames of hell burnt, as well: searing like a black-smith's hammer into my skin with a burning sensation of pain. All thoughts of breaking through the transparent barrier vanished as the agony blinded me.

Then the chakra moved, faster than any kind of thing I'd seen. Instead of making out a form, the every dancing area of red moved forwards and in the direction of Konoha - the pure, evil energy twisting and mangling every life and tree in its path.

Before I could blink, it was gone. _He_ was gone. Gone to do who knew what. Without the strength to stand, it was a slow tumble to the earthy floor which smelled of burning wood. My forehead collided heavily with the ground, but for once I did not show the physical pain, feeling my mind glazing over. Something tried to tell me to keep my eyes open. Was there something I had to do..? Naruto- I had to find.. Naruto..

*

For a few moments, I didn't move of show any sign of my awakening as I stared at the thick blanket of stars above. I just stared blankly at their twinkling lights, slowly recovering the memories my mind wished to block from me. Naruto.. Naruto had..

He'd gone into Konoha. Something he'd sworn never to do.

And I shuddered physically at what could have caused it. My own selfish reasons. No matter how foolish and petty is sounded, the only reason he could have gone in there after my outburst was to actually go after Kata himself. Destroy the destroyer, as he'd once quoted.

The burns on my arms protested along with my mind. Could he have actually done it? Could he have actually gone to Konoha and fought Kata again, over some silly, childish tears from me? It was idealistic at best, but one of the few reasonable explanations I could come up with. Automatically, I curled tighter into the ball of warmth behind my back and tried to ignore the prickly feeling on the back of my neck. I could quite possibly have inflicted wounds upon a person, no less a ninja in training, of my own village. Because of some harsh words and a tight grip. It was only slightly amazing that I still had enough energy to shed a tear. The self-loathing I had harboured over many a time of weaknesses was added to. Foolish girl, taunted my sub-conscious.

It was only then that I realised the warm presence at my back was steadily rising and falling as he breathed. All at once, my breath irrationally caught in a hitch as I held back my own breathing to listen to his. Twisting my vision, I found that I was leaning on my back against the stomach of Naruto. The one who'd saved me, the one who'd scared me, and the one who made me laugh. The blonde hair was more ruffled and wind-blown as usual, and I tried not to think of exactly how that could have happened as I smoothed it back without thinking. The normally set features were relaxed in his own dream-world, surprisingly making him seem far more.. childish. My hand froze when a single violet eye drifted open to fixate on me, caught in the act.

"'Lo sleepy-head," he mumbled with a drowsy air to his voice, obviously still half-asleep. Good enough for me: maybe he wouldn't remember it later. Remembering earlier events, I suddenly felt the undeniable impulse to shift away from the relaxed body, and as I complied his gaze abruptly turned sharper and more alert, a hint of sadness verging. "What are you doing?"

"Wh-What were _y-you d-doing?" _I countered so low, I only wished he hadn't heard me when the features twisted into something akin to guilt and acceptance. Turning my gaze away, it startled me slightly to find ourselves in the clearing with the silver butterflies. It seemed slightly less colourful without the said creatures floating around. Staring particularly hard at one of the countless daisies, I only flinched slightly when he spoke.

"Look." A sigh, making me turn my head to see it whether I wanted to or not. His expression was pained. "Look, I'm not.. I'm not proud, exactly, of what I did. I lost control of myself and I guess.. I'm sorry?" The last words were almost a question, as if asking whether I wanted an apology or not. For a brief few moments, I stared at him, at loss for words as I tried to discover my own feelings as well as speak them.

He'd lost control of the demon he kept at bay, over me. Run to Konoha.. for me. An irrationally warm glow starting at my shoulders and slowly washing over my body at the petty thoughts. He cared, if only a little. Cared about me. A completely new idea to me, but it still had the power to make the world of difference. For a moment, as the action occurred to me, I was awkwardly hesitant as I slowly straightened my arms out in front of me stiffly: the universal gesture for hugging. And without thinking, I wrapped my arms around his body, still warm from sleep. In a seconds indecision, it seemed like he may push me away. But then the arms returned the gesture with a surprising amount of energy.

So I sighed. Content.


	3. Painful Scars

Well, I finally got this chapter up. First time I've ever managed to get one of my stories past Chapter One. It's just this plot which gets me going. :3

The reason it took so long was because I lost Hinata for a while. I've always found it rather easy to slip into her self-hating character, as odd as that may sound, but for the first few weeks I tried, I just couldn't. It turned into boring monologue and I had to start again. If there's any trace of this left in here, please forgive me. D: It's amazing what happens when you delete a whole page. It just went from there. I finished half this chapter within two days. ;3

Anyway, a few notes. Some of the below may seem like I'm just filling up the page, but it will mean something in the future. I'll try and make sure this isn't just unresonable people hating Hinata.

Thank-you very much all reviewers and watchers. It's nice to still see that you can put up with me, despite my late updates! A few questions have appeared in reviews, as well, so here's a few answers:

**Hinata Cries A Lot-** Not really a question, but still a good point. Yes, she cries a lot in this story. Mainly because Naruto isn't in her life until right about the end of academy years. If you think about it, in actual canon everyone's pretty beastly to the poor girl and Naruto is one of the only things which is giving her hope. Without him, life will definitely look a lot worse for her. Hence, the lots of crying. She's not always going to be this way. I plan for her to get stronger all the same. ;3

**Hinata's Return To The Forest- **Yes, it's illogical for her to start playing with a demon child. But, from what I can find of the canon, she had few or no friends in it. Naruto appeared to be her sole ray of sunshine at the academy, in canon. If you're very much starved of attention, and someone starts being nice to you all of a sudden, it is human nature, really, to go back for more. And demon or not, which he hadn't displayed much of at the time, she did so.

**Didn't You Post This?- **Yes, I've put this in both the summary and as a quick note at the beginning of chapter two. Forest Demon was originally on here a while ago, but during a clean up of some old stories I deleted it instead. So after a few minutes of punching the chair I was sitting in, I reuploaded it with an apology. Again, I'm so sorry this happened. D;

**Why's Kata So Mad At Hina-chan?- **Kata has his reasons, which will appear later. For now, I can tell you that he, of course, does enjoy bullying those weaker than him and takes a joy in malicious acts. Hinata, particularly, because he sees her as a pampered result of the Hyuuga, as he said a bit of in chapter one and I think is somewhere in this chapter as well. There are reasons for this also. As a last hint, they mainly have to do with his family, as revealed slightly in this chapter. You'll just have to wait and see, hm? :)

As a last note, the story title has been changed from 'Forest Demon' to 'Your Eyes'. Forest Demon was originally just a name for it to be called until I found a more inventive one, and on the posting of Chapter Three I thought Your Eyes would fit. Generally because a lot of my describing involves Naruto's ever-changing eye colour. :3

Enjoy! -Vixen

* * *

Tomorrow brought no sign of Kata.

Or the next. And the next, there was no sign of him either.

What had Naruto done?

I was literally scared out of my mind: spending half my time with Naruto in the forest simply pacing the floor in anxiety. He didn't ask why, or the subject of my worry. He knew, of course, and it seemed to just darken his mood further. Sometimes I'd hear things like 'control' and 'damn Kyuubi' being muttered under his breath, but it always seemed to abruptly stop whenever my pacing lines across the forest floor reached him. It angered me at the same time as making me feel isolated: unwanted. As if the long days at the start of ninja school had returned, when others would whisper about you, then stop immediately when you came near. I felt like a child again. A silly, fool of a child.

Staring bleakly at the bark of the tree I was leaning my forehead against, I tried not to close my eyes from exhaustion, hard as it was. Whenever I shut my eyes, the scenes - make-believe and real - replayed in ever moving wheels, like a film stuck on pause all the time. The red, searing chakra burning into my skin. An angry blaze of fire in the form of a fox attacking a terrified Kata. Two clawed palms rising into the air to bring a final blow upon its victim. The images tore through my mind as easily as if it were paper. Absently, my fingers traced the worn ridges of wood. Making indecipherable patterns in the element. What if.. What if Naruto had killed Kata-kun?

The resulting mental image through this idea was so excruciatingly horrifying, I gasped out loud, staring unseeingly at the cracked ground. And for a moment, I thought he'd heard it too, and come rushing over as he used to. _Used_ to. But he either hadn't, or didn't care. There didn't seem to be much of a line between the two, I had noticed bleakly.

Twisting my fingers together, which had become more and more often lately, I let my head rise to stare at one half of my anguish. Naruto didn't return the stare, muttering vague, faint things as his own bleak stare caught on that of a leaf falling to the ground on his left. For a single, selfish moment, I took the time to study him again. Blonde, ruffled hair which was sticking up in various directions as usual. The same, curious whisker-marks glancing in three, diagonal strokes on either cheek. And the same, strange eyes. Eyes which could be blue as day, or red as a demon. Eyes which scared me more than Hiashi, my family or Kata. Eyes which made me want to die.

Even if I had wanted to, I couldn't have twisted my head in time to avoid being caught by those violent, deep purple eyes when they found mine: staring. For a moment, it seemed as if the whole Kata incident hadn't happened. Everything was normal. He would burst out laughing, and I would too. And then he'd grab my hand and take me somewhere else. Like a fairy tale.

But this wasn't a fairy tale. And instead of the familiar smile, the features twisted and turned to make some sort of horrible, out of place grimace. Then, for the first time in days, he spoke.

"Spit it out then. If you want to say something, say it." I flinched slightly at the words, so blunt and uncaring, voiced in an equally cold voice. It was just somehow _wrong_ on him. Wrong on the happy go lucky Naruto. Wrong on the sunshine hair-coloured boy. And it hurt that I was probably the cause of it. Nothing new there. For a brief moment, I opened my mouth to deny his statement - or accusation, even - but then shut it without voicing the words. After all, I couldn't lie to him. Couldn't lie to anyone. The silence stretched like a taut rubber band before I finally let out a strangled whimper and turned my gaze away from the fierce, slowly turning red one. As if satisfied with my reaction, he turned his back on me again to stare flatly at the trees. He scared me - and it scared me even more that I cared for him anyway.

Trying again, I swallowed against the tight bubble in my throat and tried to push something out resembling words. It took a moment, but I managed. "D-Did y-you hurt K-Kata-k-kun?"

The eyes briefly resembled black coals as they turned around to study me again. Black, soulless holes. Despite it being petty and weak, I was proud I didn't shudder under his demonic gaze. Naruto was silent for a few moments as he watched. Maybe looking for a chink in my armour to gauge me through, was the helpful analogy my mind supplied. Swatting away my misgivings, it was only a tiny shiver that passed through my frame when, just as suddenly as a Jounin, he appeared in front of me with the same scowl marring his forehead. Only the deep, red eyes gave away his sudden burst of anger, and my breath was immediately swallowed and forgotten as I was suddenly pushed against the tree trunk harshly. It was so different from any other encounters, that I was suddenly confused and hurt at his actions. Which was both irrational and stupid.

"Did I hurt K-Kata-_kun_?" he repeated with a hiss into my face, cruelly imitating my unfortunate stutter in a mocking way. "Did I hurt Kata? Kami, yeah, I did. I hurt Kata badly. Permanently, even." I shrunk away from the word. Permanently. It sounded so.. final. The end. I refused to entertain the images which tried to make itself apparent. "And what could it be over?" I shuddered properly this time, as the strange scars on either side of his face seemed to darken and become the imitation of whiskers. He growled lowly when I didn't answer, and for a moment irritation rose in the face of danger. What the heck did he expect me to say? "I hurt a villager because _you_ came crying to me about it. And why, over you? Why.. Why over you?" His voice seemed to lose the vigorous anger towards the end, and suddenly became more questioning as he stared at me with the same, purple eyes. I couldn't think: my mind seemed frozen as his anger peaked and faded away to leave someone who was just as lost on what to do as I was.

I couldn't breathe: couldn't think. What was there to say? In every way - I wasn't worth it. Wasn't worth losing control over, despite the warm feeling the idea had produced a few days ago. I'd made him enter Konoha, against all his wishes, and hurt someone, possibly killed. It hurt far worse than any physical pain. _He _had become a part of me, over the weeks of companionship. His hurt was my hurt.

And send me to hell if it didn't hurt.

The silence seemed to infuriate him further as the eyes turned from smoky maroon to glowing red. The only sign of him moving was the tiny flow of wind as the grass moved. Then he was sitting on a branch above me, as if he'd always been. Instead of running away, I shrunk into the earth, trying to make myself as small as possible. The muscle in his jaw twitched slightly at that, I could see from my vantage point, but otherwise no reaction.

"What is it about you, Hinata?" he questioned the wind in a voice too unnaturally quiet.

But I didn't say anything. I stayed silent. Because there was no answer.

* * *

Kata returned the next day.

I was sitting in my window desk, staring at the tree line in the distance and - as usual - wondering, or rather worrying, about Naruto. All my thoughts seemed to revolve around Naruto. Time spent with Naruto. In such a short time, he'd fitted into my sense of well-being as if he was always there. Half my happiness wasn't mine: it was his.

So as I contemplated these rather disturbing thoughts, I didn't notice the stiff figure sitting down next to me until he let out of a hiss of pain. Jerking my back pencil-straight out of habit, I turned - only to find the slitted gaze of Kata glaring at me, light shining of the pupils so they glowed. I shrieked slightly, before nervously scooting myself to the end of the bench: as far away from the boy as possible. As it was, I managed to get a good look at him in the process. Wearing his normal t-shirt and shorts, the effect was rather awe-inspiring. Even a Jounin would have done a double take at the extent of his injuries.

Large, ragged claw marks seemed to cover his body everywhere. Though the bandages did their best to cover the horrifying and puckered markings, the tips of ragged scars were still visible above the bloodied material. As if they had already healed over in a nasty, disturbing way, snarling red claw marks covered his bare arms in distorted, gruesome patterns. Like some kind of sick person had cross-hatched his limbs for the fun of it.

I didn't know what I was expecting if he _did_ eventually return: but it wasn't anything like this. Some small part of me had been harbouring the hope that Naruto had said that he'd harmed Kata just in the heat in the moment. That he wouldn't _truly_ hurt a thirteen year-old boy so badly. Maybe a few bruises, but nothing more. I should have expected this, even before feeling the searing, burning chakra when he had lost control.

Absent-mindedly, he reached down and scratched the side of his stomach in a seemingly harmless gesture: but when the t-shirt wrinkled up I caught a bare glimpse of mangled skin before he hurriedly replaced it. When my gaze returned to his, it was almost mocking, but the bare pain at the edges seemed to strip him of all malicious intent even as he tried.

"Happy with what your boyfriend did to me?" he asked casually, voice raspy, "I told them I got hurt by a bear. Best reason we could come up with. After all, they weren't going to believe the Kyuubi did this to me, hm?" To exaggerate the point he patted the side of his ribs, before seeming to think better of it as a visible shudder passed through the area. I watched, with wide eyes. "Couldn't find a reason for the chakra marks, though. Rogue ninja bear? Hah."

The stinging of dust hitting my wide eyes made me blink, but when I readjusted my vision the markings- no, the _injuries_ wouldn't go away. The red substance seeping through the bandages wouldn't leave my vision, even when I looked away at my perfectly harmless blue textbook on the desk. Bitterly, I wondered if I'd ever recover my once perfect relationship with Naruto from this. Or would I remain permanently scarred for life?

In a small flash of rare rationality, a thought which was puzzling me irritated my conscious until I voiced it.

"Wh-Why didn't y-you tr-try to tell th-them?" I muttered, noting dispassionately that my throat had gone dry, "Wh-Why not even _tr-try _to get r-revenge?"

His eyebrows rose in something akin to surprise as he studied me thoughtfully after my small outburst. Perhaps he thought I wasn't intelligent enough to realise what his true purposes were? If I'd been in a more healthy mental state, I might have been silently angry. But the small beginnings of it faded almost immediately. After all, _he_ wasn't the oneI should be angry at. But I was incapable of being so at the one who deserved it most.

"Revenge?" he repeated softly, in an almost foreboding voice. I looked up sharply at his change of tone. I knew that tone well enough. And I'd seen enough of that almost manic glint in his eye to almost guess completely what his next words would be. "That'll come in time. But for now, it's _my_ revenge." Without thinking, I shuddered at the implications behind that promise.

"Of course, it'll be difficult," he tacked on almost casually, but an unusual hard edge to his voice made me focus again, "My family being allied with the foxes, it'll be hard to kill the big boss himself. A challenge, even. But that's what I was born for." Abruptly, I cranked my head up to stare at him. Though my neck felt like it had a crick in it. The foxes?

I'd never paid much attention to the big, bragging talk Kata and his little group had practically announced all over the playground during breaks. It was humiliating enough having to give in to him, let alone listen to his great achievements. Belatedly, I realised I didn't really know what kind of animal his family specialised in, though the sharpened fangs had hinted upon the fact.

So now I knew. Foxes. Maybe the Kyuubi ruled over them all or something like that. And it would obviously be some sort of law in their family to not kill the foxes.. I frowned as my information ran out. Truthfully, I'd never paid much attention to the animal side of the ninja world. It had never seemed that important - and that reflected when I needed it the most.

"So, you still seeing the Kyuubi demon then?" he broke into my thoughts with the almost easy comment. But the searching eyes gave it away. Maybe telling me that he was going after revenge was the starting block for his quest. Someone in front of me turned round, and I cringed. Takai looked equally startled before turning back to the front again.

"Don't say it so loud!" I hissed quietly with a silent plea.

"Oh, what, Hinata? Afraid someone will hear us talking about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" he mocked with an amused glance towards Takai, whose ears were slowly turning red from our point of view. "What's the matter, Hina-chan? Not comfortable talking about the demon? After all, you spend enough time with him - not much of a difference, talking, is it?"

For the first time in my life, I felt the urge to slap him. And the rush of adrenaline pumping through my veins in answer to the violent thought felt _good_.

"I th-thought you s-said you were g-going to pr-pretend it was a b-bear?" I murmured, turning away to the window again so he wouldn't see the pathetic tears pooling at the corners of my eyes. Rubbing them away furiously, I thought for one wishful moment, a blonde haired fool was peering through the window, looking straight at me.

Then it was gone. Wouldn't surprise me. Wishful thinking.

Apparently, he'd seen the tears though. "Crying, Hina-chan?" he almost laughed, the supposedly sisterly ending tacked onto my name sounding like a nasty nickname coming from his mouth. Almost like a brother _really_ comforting his sister, he reached over and patted my shoulder in what could have been taken as a loving gesture. It was just a little too heavy handed for that. "Dear dear, have we got feelings for the demon?"

He meant it as another jibe: another jab at my self-confidence. Nothing more, nothing less. He couldn't _possibly_ think anything like that. After all, who ever heard of a human having feelings for a jiinchuriki?

All the same, the next few seconds were a blur as my hand raised itself of its own accord and smacked Kata round the cheek with a resounding 'slap' sound. It sounded sickeningly like a wet fish against tarmac.

Briefly, I stared at the familiar, soft fingers of my hand in wonder. They tingled with something which could only be described as.. Well. Magic, if I wanted to be childish. Pain was probably a more accurate description. Already, I could feel the blood rising to the surface of my skin as it turned a dull, dark pink colour. Stunned, my pupil less eyes rose to find an identical-coloured hand mark on the shocked cheek of Kata: who was somehow lying on the floor.

Blinking like an idiot, it took me a few seconds to comprehend my actions. I had.. slapped someone. Slapped my class mate. Violence. And it felt sickening. Sickeningly painful. Like something was physically wrong with me. I'd couldn't remember rising to do it, as I sat down with a painful shudder. Sub-consciously, I realised that the classroom had gone quiet and still. Ino and Sakura had stopped in mid-rant at one another to openly gape. Choji had paused with a single potato-crisp half way between mouth and packet; Shikamaru had opened one eye from his dozing to contemplate the typically troublesome scene before him. Sasuke, amid a good deal of fan girls, was looking at me with something akin to.. respect? Shino was staring ahead as usual, but a muffled buzzing was erupting from his coat; Kiba, behind me, looked slightly dazed. I could also openly feel the hard stare of Takai as the tall boy turned to assess the situation himself.

Everyone was watching. And I didn't know what to do.

Numbly, I stared at the hand which had completed the malicious act. It didn't look any different, apart from the familiar feeling of pins and needles in it. But it _felt_ dirty: like I'd used it to murder someone.

It was that moment that Iruka-sensei chose to enter. Late, for once.

"Sorry, class, I got hailed down by an old friend who wanted to talk and before I knew it I was alre- what happened?" His voice was like a rock being dropped into a pool of water: the ripples breaking whatever trance was holding us all down. Slowly, everyone returned to their seats, apart from Kata, who I kept my eyes on anxiously: begging for him not to say anything. What would Hiashi say if he found out? I could feel my complexion blanching at the mere thought. Hyuuga's were calm, strong and collected. They didn't get down to such _common_ things as this.

"Kata! What are you doing on the floor down there?" the teacher's voice barked again. Slowly, the boy rose to his feet, and his gaze stayed connected with mine. A few gasped as the extent of his previous injuries were revealed, and a few glares were shot my way as I realised too late I'd hurt someone who was already near being hospitalized.

"Nothing, Iruka-sensei," he chanted suddenly, without missing a beat. "Nothing's wrong at all."

* * *

I tried to spend the rest of the day not thinking about Kata: and that meant not meeting Naruto. So instead of turning onto the regular path to Konoha forest, I took the worn down one to the shops of my village.

Despite all the brightly coloured wares and distracting scents, though, I couldn't think of anything more than a blonde shock of spiky hair and a tangle of messy brown hair. In my dazed, almost confused state, they mixed together in my minds eye, making an ugly dark beige colour. It scared me that whenever I thought of one of them, the other immediately came to mind. Wherever I looked, some aspect of them appeared. A blonde shock of hair to the right sent my heart racing - only for it to plummet when the person turned to reveal a rather different face.

Bouncing off a fat man who smelt like alcohol with a mumbled apology, I let my feet run loose till I found myself with little shock at the Ramen bar. Typically, the first thing that came to mind was Naruto. _Naruto-kun loved ramen. _Past tense. It was like he was dead.

Shrugging away the insistent thoughts, I struggled my way to an empty seat and sat with my head bowed, hair hopefully hiding my face away from any curious onlookers. Seeing Hyuuga in a place like this would be the talk of the town, if I let it. A distressed Hyuuga would make it all the better for gossip. Ino would have a field day if she found out.

"Miss Hyuuga-san, are you alright?"

The cold voice was like a kunai driven through my brain, as I abruptly straightened to meet the icy eyes of Ayame: black irises boring into my own. Since the beginning of my daily comings and goings at this place, she had never once offered a kindly word. Always a horribly cold stare which made me want to run away. But it had been the only place to get a quick meal when it was needed - and I was far less likely to be seen by someone who would report back to Hiashi or family members. Though I had tried to make conversation - at a mere way to break the frozen silence which stretched for miles between me and the cook's daughter - it hadn't been returned, and I instead received either frigid silence or bold glares. It stung, that yet another person had started to hate me, no matter how much of a good impression I tried to make.

Now, the normally thoughtful words were simply a polite greeting. What should have been concern for another had been twisted into an almost mocking statement. Internally, I wanted to run away. Because running away was always the only thing to do. Like Kata. If you stood up to him, you just got beat down again. And as with Kata, if I stood up against her I would be knocked down again. Running was the only option which would guarantee an end to it.

Taking a shaky breath, my filed crescent fingernails dug into my palms with a sharp intensity as I struggled with my emotions. "N-No, Ayame-s-san. I-I'm f-fine." Satisfied with that, the older woman moved on to take a customer's order. No use in sparing effort on the Hyuuga girl. Ignoring the need to satisfy my hunger, I slipped from the seat to dejectedly drag myself back to the compound. The colourful cloth a mere barrier as I slipped under it to exit the place.

Even when I had done nothing, people did not want me. Shuffling clean ninja shoes through the dust, I didn't look where I was going only to bump into an older man. His grumbling was cut short when he saw the pupil less eyes, and instead moved on without a word. Was I to go through this constantly? Because of my birth right - or other reasons, beyond my understanding - I was to be either constantly hated or feared. Because of the father who abused me anyway, I was to be alone. Isolated. Without any hope of connection. Maybe it was the way Hyuuga's learnt that impenetrable shield. But one thing I could tell immediately, if that was the case. I simply wasn't cut out for this.

Wasn't cut out for being a Hyuuga.

* * *

Blank eyes followed me with a mixture of veiled curiosity and hidden contempt. Either way, all was meaningless. It didn't matter which, because both were simply emotions of malice. Something I'd never be able to learn, despite the hard handed blows of Hiashi, or the soft words of the elderly. In all cases, I was going to be the failure. No matter what happened.

I didn't meet the eyes which followed me, ignoring them till I reached the fragile safety of my room. Pushing back the sliding door, the setting was simple and nothing like the rich and lavish rooms the Hyuuga were imagined to own. Especially their princess. Just a bed, a dresser, a single wardrobe and the window. The rest, I had been told when moved from the nursery to my own room, was for practicing.

Still, despite the impersonal outlook, it was my own retreat. Though the design had been made to another's taste, I had made my own marks in small ways. Tiny scratches lining the frame for the mattress. A small collection of dried flowers hidden on top of the wardrobe. Books which meant some kind of hope or precious fantasy covered from view among the necessities in the dresser. My own small 'home' within home. When younger and oblivious to my restricted position, I had been easily delighted by the generous space and belongings which had been pronounced 'mine' with a certain glee. Now I could not find a trace of that brief happiness, and only a resigned sense of peace when I walked to the dresser and pulled out a nightgown. No sense in going to dinner. They wouldn't have prepared enough, since I was usually gone.

The only thing which seemed almost _real_ in my little room of plain furniture was the view from the window. It overlooked the garden I was usually sent to meditate in, and I could see, smell and hear everything in the section of glass. When the time was right, the scent of cherry blossom would drift through and into my room in early mornings. Other times, birds might come and sit on the window sill if I was quiet enough. It had reminded me there was another world out there, when I had been young and disbelieving of anything outside the Hyuuga compound.

Now, looking out at the immaculate plants and garden beyond the pane of glass, it seemed slightly less magical than it had used to, for some reason.

Slipping into the plain white, almost dress-like clothing, for a moment I simply stared at the floor, stumped on what to do. When a Hyuuga was confronted with free time, they were expected to use it to train and get stronger. Myself, being a failure, even more so. But training reminded me too much of things I needed to forget, so I opted for going to bed, and staring at the ceiling.

People always told their children to 'count sheep' if you wanted to get to sleep. I used to try it, childishly, when I was younger. It never worked. The sheep always seemed to make me concentrate harder instead of helping me drift to sleep. Futilely, I tried again, staring at the ceiling in fierce concentration. The pathetic sheep I managed to create looked more like puffs of wool than grass-eating mammals.

"Why didn't you come, today?"

I tried to refuse to acknowledge the voice: I really did try, this time. I could feel my eyes unconsciously straining against my will in the need to identify it. To make sure it really _was_ him. But I didn't want- no, didn't _need_ to. If I did, I'd come apart at the seams. And that would bring every Hyuuga in the immediate vicinity running. But I still couldn't help myself, and I turned blank eyes on him.

He was still wearing that same t-shirt and trousers. Bare footed, as always. Even the blonde hair looked the same, yet the expression made the familiar sight seem like a stranger. He was sitting on the window sill, looking over that same view I had looked out over a thousand times. Though he'd never been here before, he still looked right at home in my bedroom.

Hurriedly, I returned my gaze back to the unmarked ceiling. _Just for once, Kami. Lend me the strength I need._

"So?" He flashed his first glance my way, and out of the corner of my eye I could see the colour. Deep purple. Verging on maroon, almost. Anger. It was getting easier to read the colours everyday. That, in itself, felt wrong. People's emotions weren't books to be read: they were hidden items of the mind, to neither to be seen or heard.

"I d-didn't want t-to," I tried to reply flatly, as if I didn't care one way or another. It didn't work. My voice cracked half way through the sentence.

"Why?"

"I-I.. I d-don't have to t-tell you th-that."

An audible growl from his direction suggested not so, but when I glanced over he was looking out the window, he was observing something or other which was enough to make his fists clench.

Momentarily curious and forgetting our shaky relationship, I clambered over the bed and moved in his direction before glancing at the taut features. "Wh-what is it?"

"Does your father train you like that too?" The question was tense and hung solemnly in the air, waiting to crash down when the truth came out. Inevitably, I followed his gaze to where the stern shadow of Hiashi Hyuuga was dictating my younger sister, Hana. At that moment in time, she was struggling to regain her balance after a no doubt particularly heavy handed blow from him. I watched silently, struggling to view it through dispassionate eyes and failing utterly. Trying to make light of it, I turned away so I couldn't see him out of the corner of my eye. "A-All clans t-train their ch-children," I muttered evasively.

"With hard handed blows? I may not know of Konoha, Hinata, but even I know that's wrong." The lack of suffix made me cringe having been so comfortably used to it on the end of my name. It just showed how far the gap had widened the past days.

Automatically, I shrunk and tried to avoid his question, as I always did with anyone. Despite being close to him, I had yet to approach the subject of family. Nobody, in fact, had been able to talk to me about it. Of course, curious students at the academy had tried to learn the secrets of the Hyuuga. But shyness and crippling guilt had kept me silent against it all. Other shinobi and civilians knew better than to try and ask.

Remembering the original subject, I tried to move discreetly away from him, but simultaneously his arm came out and squeezed my wrist. I didn't dare look up: keeping my pupil less eyes on the veins in both our hands. The blue lines were far easier to find in my own, against his stronger one. A sudden finger beneath my chin forced me to look up, into the eyes I feared. "Why didn't you come?" he asked again.

I tried to turn my head away, but his hand stopped it as he forced me to stare at him. For the third time, he breathed the question. "Why?"

Instead of answering, I closed my eyes, chewing my lip in debate on whether to tell him. Of course, what was there to tell? I was scared of him, as was Kata and anyone sane.

But it would hurt him if I told him that.

"I-I saw K-Kata today." It was the only answer I could think of, and still it hurt him. His hand, briefly warm against my skin, flinched away as if I'd burned him. The warmth of his palm against my skin felt cold when he removed it, and lightly I touched the place. It felt strangely empty, for some reason. Like I was missing something.

Plain despair. It was the only thing I could think of which could describe the tone of his silence: the gaping hole which now seemed to fill him. I didn't dare look at his eyes; didn't want to see the colour of them. It would seem impersonal and an invasion of space to read what he was thinking from the eyes.

"Guess that explains it, huh?" There was a forced cheerfulness in the words, and the smile wasn't his as I glanced at him. It was like he was suddenly a stranger: so far away, I couldn't see him anymore. His eyes didn't even hold the emotions I had thought I could read. They were blank and empty.

"After all," he started again, vacantly almost. "Nobody wants to talk to the demon, eh? They always did that when I was younger. Nobody spoke to me, nobody looked at me. There was just these horrible glares over and over again: and the names. Demon, fox, brat. There were always new names to call me." I couldn't speak, frozen in my fascinated horror. Though he'd never told me his history, he was telling it to me now. Whenever I'd pictured it, I'd always thought he'd be telling me it in confidence as one friend would to another. Not like this.. this vague, mechanical telling. It was wrong. So wrong. Nobody should have gone through such pain and become like this.

"I never told you how I found out that I was the Kyuubi, did I?" Naruto continued, eyes fixated on some distant point in the landscape I couldn't see. "It was my birthday: the day everyone celebrated my death. And somehow, there was always something round the corner to hurt me, on that particular day of the year. If I was lucky, it was just academy children sneering at me. In a worst case scenario, a drunken Jonin." The pause after that was long enough for him to draw a long, ragged breath. I could practically feel the trembles running through his body from the memory, as they seemed to vibrate through the small amount of space between us.

"It was an ANBU, that night. One who was both drunk and wearing a tiger mask. He cornered me at the end of an alleyway through explosive tags - and in plain view, though no one stopped. And then.." His breathing was altered, almost hyperventilating. Automatically, I wanted to put my hand out to soothe the pain. But at the same time, knew it would only make it worse. So frustrating, that I could do nothing when I was right beside him.

"Then.. he showed me images. Genjutsu, I think they were called. Images of when.. I destroyed the village." He choked on the last word, as if saying the very sentence had cost more than it seemed possible. His voice was hoarse as he forced the remaining words out. I could only sit numbly, as my conscious supplied images of what he described. "Many deaths, too many deaths. Burning fire. Burning _chakra_. Tails flying everywhere. Screams, cries. Wounds, blood. Teeth, claws. Kunai raining down upon me and their precious village. Flames, flying elements. Bodies lay everywhere. Destruction reigned. Weeping mothers, determined fathers.. I killed them all, Hinata. Every last one of them. And I _loved_ it. Loved it because I am a demon. That's why they're scared of me."

Another shuddering breath, and I wondered absently if he was crying. Did demons even cry?

"Then he told me what I was. And that's why you're scared of me.. I'll leave you alone now. You don't have to come any more."

Naruto didn't even give me the chance to object. He was gone, leaving me staring at the point the had only seconds ago occupied, wondering how the Kami I'd managed to tear us both apart.

* * *

Graduated.

Against all the odds, I'd graduated.

Even after a day of seeing it and sleeping with it next to me, it was still hard to believe that the cold, metal headband around my neck actually belonged to me. Absently, I touched it, to check the unmarred metal was still there. What really made it seem real, though, was the way no one seemed surprised when I appeared amongst the gaggle of new genin. Nobody shouted 'She doesn't belong here!'. At the same time, no one talked to me. But that was fine too. I didn't want to talk. Not when it seemed that one word would break the dream and I would wake up to go to academy properly.

Iruka's voice rang over the numerous heads, eventually quieting even the loudest trouble makers and making everyone else sit down. Nervously, I tried to make myself as small as possible between Kiba and Shino.

"Today, all those who graduated will start on the rocky road of the shinobi world," he began, causing several eyes to roll at his dramatic entrance line. He'd used it so many times now, that the actual meaning behind it was all but lost on everyone. "I hope you all haven't forgotten overnight, but you will now all be sorted into three-man cells: two boys and one girl per team. Each team will have a Jounin-sensei also, who will be directing and training your team for missions."

Teams. Somehow the idea hadn't crossed my mind at all. Two people and an older adult would suddenly be a lot closer to me than comfort permitted. How by Kami would I live with the proximity? And they wouldn't be able to rely one me either: I'd merely be the burden that Hiashi always proclaimed I was. A hindrance.

"Alright then. Team Seven consists of Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyuuga.."

Sasuke Uchiha. How had that happened? The glares on my back told me plain enough that none of the other girls in our class appreciated me being the singular girl on the team. Fair enough. It wasn't like I was going to enjoy my time with the cold Uchiha anyway. The feeling was probably mutual, knowing him.

"..And Kata Nakana."


End file.
